BLOOM • awsten knight

100

SEPTEMBER 2019

"I'm gonna miss you," Awsten mumbles, resting his head against Elle's shoulder, with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I think I already miss you," she sniffles, quietly, hoping the sound is muffled in his chest.

"Please don't cry," he pouts, pulling back just enough to look at her. Awsten brings his hands up to Elle's cheeks, cupping her face as she stares up at him; she looks down as a stray tear falls, but he catches his with his thumb, before tilting her chin up to look at him again.

"What did you say the time difference was?" Elle questions, trying to pick up her tone.

"I'll only be two hours behind," Awsten answers, still holding her close.

Elle's flight number rings through the speakers for the second time, but she only squeezes Awsten tighter, which makes his heart ache.

She rests her head against his chest again, closing her eyes as she savours the feeling of being in his arms.

"I can do this, right?" Elle asks, her anxieties about touring clearly showing.

"Of course you can," Awsten reminds her. "You've got this," he murmurs, his mouth pressed to her ear.

The speakers chime again, calling Elle's flight, this time eliciting a frustrated groan.

"I fucking get it, okay?" She responds to the voice over the telecom, earning a small laugh from Awsten.

He looks at her for a beat, before turning his head to scan their surroundings; they don't seem to be drawing much attention to themselves, despite their long goodbye in the middle of the open space; and Awsten does have a hat on, meaning his most recognisable feature is covered.

"Can I kiss you goodbye?" He asks, returning his gaze to her.

Elle is a little shocked that he wants to kiss her in such a public place, with so many people around, especially when they're not even official yet; but she wants to, nonetheless.

"Only if you leave out the goodbye part," she pouts, but her expression soon turns into a small smile, as he leans in.

Awsten kisses her slowly, one hand on the side of her face, and the other holding her waist, keeping her close.

The two of them savour the moment for as long as they possibly can, before Elle is the first to reluctantly pull away.

"Maybe we should cool it with the PDA, since we are in the middle of LAX," she giggles, quietly, and Awsten is just glad that he's seemed to shift the grey cloud that was hanging over her.

"You're probably right," he agrees, with a dramatic sigh. "Have fun," Awsten tells her, kissing her forehead, "stay safe," he kisses her cheek, "and don't miss me too much."

"I'll try," Elle smiles, pushing onto her tip toes to peck his lips, before finally beginning to move back from him.

Awsten shoves his hands in his pockets, as he watches her walk away; she turns back every couple of steps, and he offers her a small wave.

It's not until she's out of sight, that he exhales loudly, heat beginning to rise behind his nose.

So, he leaves promptly, swiftly heading for the exit and walking towards the parking lot, not exactly wanting to cry in public.

Once he's in his car, Awsten squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing his hands over his face, in attempts to stop any tears from falling; thankfully, he's successful in that, and takes a deep breath as he buckles his seatbelt.